Naruto Uzumaki and the Sealing Scroll
by YoakeKodomo
Summary: Naruto Uzumaki doesn't know anything of the world he comes from, who his parents were, or why everyone seems to hate him. Then he's accepted into an academy just for ninjas. Naruto story crossed with Harry Potter story.


This is just an idea that has been haunting me for a couple years now, even though I'm sure it's already been done before. But I still had to write it down because my mind was over thinking everything and it was bound to explode at some point.

Okay, so anything in Japanese is italicized. A note beforehand is that _Jyama_ is a term I came up for non-ninja people, or just basically the equivalent to a muggle. In Japanese it means 'hindrance, or in the way,' so I thought it was a pretty good term. Also, I think it's pretty easy to tell who's who. Naruto = Harry, Masumoto = Uncle Vernon, Third Hokage = Dumbledore… Yeah. (But Haruka, just to let you know, is the equivalent to Mrs. Figg. I know it's kind of weird, but it makes sense to me.) Warning: The Naruto characters will not always have the same personality or history as their Harry Potter equivalent, and I had to come up with a few things to properly match the two stories.

"Uzumaki Naruto! You come here right now!" Masumoto yelled, his face a livid red, and his fist brandished towards a young blonde boy.

Naruto, the blonde in question, had no intention of answering to his guardian's demand. Naruto was too busy laughing and running, with a can of spray paint clutched in his hand. The other kids were either cheering him on sarcastically, or yelling the same things as Masumoto.

There, of course, was a practical reason to why Masumoto was screaming his head off. Thanks to the resident prankster, the outside back wall of the Osaka orphanage was spray painted into a poorly-drawn depiction of 'Emperor Naruto' and 'Masumoto the servant.'

The odd part was that Naruto didn't settle with vandalizing the wall of the first floor. Instead, the knucklehead had somehow marked the third story. With that, the other inmates were asking amongst themselves about _how_ Naruto had managed such a feat.

"You all just can't appreciate my talent!" Naruto claimed. "No one is awesome enough to even attempt what I did!"

"You mean no one else is as _stupid_ as you, right, Uzumaki?" laughed Akira, who was the self-proclaimed leader of the orphanage. His cronies, Sanro and Nishiyama, always stood behind him. Akira could never act as tough as he did without the support of the boys who laughed stupidly for everything Akira said.

Naruto pretended that Akira's remark and Sanro and Nishiyama's snorts didn't bother him, and simply stuck his tongue out at his mockers. However, Naruto would never admit how much the insults bothered him. It seemed as if no one really ever said a kind word to him throughout his entire life. Except for one person, and Naruto was going at such a top speed that he rammed into this particular person.

"Ow! Hey!" Naruto complained as he fell back onto his back. Yet upon looking up and seeing who had stopped him, Naruto's face softened. "Sarutobi-_basan_!"

The older woman, about forty with the attitude of a sixty year-old, looked down at the troublemaker with disproving frown. Haruka Sarutobi never really smiled. For as long as Naruto could remember, her expression was always either apathetic or strict. Yet, she never jeered towards Naruto, and that was the only reason Naruto tolerated her as an authority.

"Naruto…" Haruka said slowly. Naruto gulped. While Haruka never insulted Naruto, that didn't mean that she never scolded him. That was probably the only reason Masumoto kept her hired. If anyone went soft on Naruto, they were ostracized by Masumoto and their peers.

"Heh, heh, heh…" Naruto rubbed the back of his head, trying to look innocent. Haruka wasn't fooled. She picked Naruto back up by his jacket, and then stared straight into his eyes. Naruto squirmed uncomfortably.

"Now what have you done, Naruto?"

"I, uh…" Naruto stammered, and then mumbled something incoherent.

"You did what? Speak up now."

"I, well…" Naruto then furrowed his brows, and shouted proudly: "I showed all these fools just how great I am! And I'm going to be the greatest ever! You just watch!"

Haruka blinked, caught off guard by Naruto's exuberant declaration. Naruto folded his arms, turned, and began to walk away. Haruka wasn't about to let him get off that easily.

"Alright, if you're the greatest," Haruka called after Naruto. He stopped, and all the other kids watched intently. "Then you most certainly would be the greatest in washing off that graffiti."

Akira and his gang's laughs could be heard across the neighborhood as Naruto grudgingly followed Haruka to find some cleaning supplies. Naruto flipped them the bird, and Haruka hit him upside the head.

"But those bastards are _laughing_ at me!" Naruto protested.

"You're twelve," Haruka responded. "Don't you think you're too young to be expressing such behavior?"

"You just don't understand," Naruto frowned, looking down at the ground.

Haruka looked at him, and then sighed. "Naruto," She said. "How did you mark the wall?"

Naruto looked back up with a huge grin on his face, and had completely forgotten his earlier grim behavior. "It was pretty cool, right?" He replied enthusiastically. "See, about a month or so ago, that bastard Akira was chasing me. I couldn't escape, you know? So I tried to jump behind some garbage cans, but found myself on the roof!"

"What?" Haruka exclaimed, yet not out of shock. She knew this was going to happen. Haruka was well aware that Naruto was not like his peers. He was not just different because he liked to pull pranks, but because he had and was _something_.

"Yeah, yeah," Naruto said happily, assuming Haruka's outburst as simple surprise. "I don't know how I got up there either. But after awhile I found out that I can jump really, _really_ well! So for the past few months, whenever the idiots would bother me, I'd just escape to the roof."

While Naruto rambled on about how he had obtained the paint, Haruka let her mind wander. Haruka had no intention of telling Naruto who he really was, more so, _what_ he really was. Her only job was to watch him, and make sure he didn't grow up completely alone.

Her father had actually given her the assignment; not even a day after the incident that took her mother, and many others, away. Her mother had gone on for days before about how, in her old bones, she felt as if something was going to happen.

On the other hand, Haruka's father was always a cheerful man. Some thought he was naïve, but Haruka loved his ideas of peace. He was always preaching about how the next generation would be stronger than the previous, and how it was the older generation's responsibility to properly raise the young ones into successful adults. Almost nothing could bring him down.

When Haruka had questioned his decision of leaving Naruto in the care of a _Jyama_, the old man had wisely smiled and said, "It's for the best." Then with a more serious expression, he added, "You know that if _they_ ever found out, Naruto would be in danger."

"Yes, I understand the need for secrecy," Haruka replied. "But shouldn't we at least have him be raised by someone capable of protecting him? Perhaps it could be an ANBU member."

He was shaking his head no before Haruka had even finished her sentence. "If the information from Minato is correct, then even an ANBU member would easily overpowered by Madara…"

"Don't say his name!" Haruka hissed. "Say _You Know Who_ like a normal person!"

Sarutobi laughed. Haruka never understood how he could be so light about a man who up and randomly attacked a village, when everyone thought he had been dead for decades. _You Know Who_, as Haruka and other normal people called him, was responsible of Haruka's mother's death. Not only that, but he was also the one who left Naruto an orphan.

At the time of the dialogue, Naruto was just a day old, and Sarutobi was cradling him in his arms. Naruto was wrapped only in a thick white blanket, even though it was in the middle of autumn. Naruto wasn't blubbering or crying though, he was just silently sleeping as if nothing had happened. Years later, Haruka would come to admire Naruto's guarded and optimistic behavior that kept him from being openly bothered about anything. But at the moment, Naruto was too young to understand why the two adults with him were so nervous.

The two were standing outside the Osaka orphanage. It was about midnight, and they had met in a secluded alley to stay away from any _Jyama's_ view. The alley smelled faintly of trash, and was unbearably musky, but the two barely noticed the setting through their other concerns. There was also another member there, a small, brown pug, who was watching the street. The whole day, this pug had watched the orphanage, studying it in order to report to Sarutobi.

For the majority of the conversation, the pug had not done anything. Not that one would expect a dog to react in any personified ways. However, this dog, by the name Pakun, was different, just like his two companions. For one, Pakun wore a headband and a bandana tied around his back. The headband had a metal plate that portrayed an abstract looking leaf.

Also, when Sarutobi had asked Pakun what he thought of the orphanage, Pakun _spoke_ his opinion. "It's not the greatest," Pakun had said gruffly. "I guess it's alright since it's close to the village." Sarutobi had smiled in response.

By now, Pakun was glancing randomly at the father and daughter, waiting for the conversation to continue. He too was wondering what Sarutobi's plans were.

"Haruka," Sarutobi then said. "I have given this more thought than it may seem. If I left Naruto with an ANBU member, Madara" Haruka flinched "would easily guess that. Now, by leaving Naruto in the responsibilities of a _Jyama_… Madara would never consider the idea."

"What about the fact that Naruto is not normal, even for our standards, which will become obvious to him as he grows older? There's got to be someone to make sure he doesn't go off hurting himself." Haruka protested almost immediately in response.

"That job," Sarutobi answered, his crinkle-eyed smile promising a good surprise. "I am leaving in your capable hands."

Haruka's eyes widened. "Me?"

Sarutobi nodded and gently passed the sleeping Naruto to Haruka. She awkwardly held him at first, unsure of herself. It wasn't like she had never held a baby before, as she was the eldest sibling in her family and had to care for her little brother and sister, but the current sleeping bundle in her arms was a lot different from squirmy siblings. Haruka tried not to concentrate on the whisker-like lines across Naruto's cheeks. She did not want to be reminded of anything uncomfortable.

"Well," Sarutobi said. "I must be off. I'm coming out of retirement, you know. I've got at least a few situations that need help clearing up."

He tapped the hat he had been wearing. The hat was red with a streak of white. In the white was the Japanese symbol for fire. Sarutobi's clothes matched that of his hat, with inner red robe, and an outer white garment.

"Thank Kakashi for allowing us your services, Pakun." Sarutobi said. He gave one last smile to his still anxious daughter and the blankly staring dog, and then disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Yes sir, Hokage-_sama_." Pakun replied, even though Sarutobi was already long gone. Then Pakun did the same technique as Sarutobi, and vanished as well.

Haruka was left alone, staring at the brick wall of the orphanage, preparing herself for the morning. She thought up a story to get herself hired in the orphanage, and in the morning, Masumoto had accepted her stern demeanor happily. Haruka didn't bother mentioning to her new boss about her and Naruto's true identities, but somehow Masumoto picked up that Naruto was different in some way, and then the tormenting had begun.

Naruto's voice brought Haruka out of her musing. He was saying something about being done. Haruka curiously inspected the wall to finding that Naruto had done a well enough job. He had used a ladder this time, and wiped every inch of the graffiti using just rough sponge and a bucket of soapy water.

Masumoto ambled over to examine Naruto's work. He gave it a nonchalant wave of his hand, and walked away again, most likely to find some poor kid that deserved some good old yelling. Naruto glared at his retreating figure.

Haruka tried not to say anything. If she was being honest with herself, she liked Masumoto just as much as she liked the idea of having You Know Who over for dinner. He wasn't irresponsible, no, just extremely meticulous in his desk work. In fact, Masumoto was so absorbed in his work that he gave the kids little attention. Haruka found herself comforting more than one child after she had applied for a job at the orphanage. The younger kids preferred her, but once they started misbehaving, she was their least favorite. Naruto had been the only exception to that.

"Naruto," Haruka said softly. "Are you hungry?"

Just at that moment, Naruto's stomach growled. He stared at it, and then began to chuckle. Throwing his hands behind his head like usual – Haruka had no idea where he had picked up the habit, Naruto nodded yes.

"How about I make you some ramen then?"

Naruto's eyes lit up. If there was one thing that Naruto loved most in the world, besides pulling pranks, it was ramen. It was fine at the moment because Naruto had done a good job cleaning up his graffiti, and he had skipped the scheduled lunch to clean the wall. Inwardly though, Haruka knew that ramen would be better tasting than the sorry excuse the orphanage passed off as food, but proper compensation wasn't really a concern of hers. Over the years, Haruka herself even started favoring Naruto, even if she sometimes acted otherwise.

The two made their way to the orphanage's kitchen. The only cook wasn't there because she was upstairs serving snacks to the pre-school kids, and that meant the food pantry was unguarded. Feeling like they were on a secret mission to steal an important jewel, instead of just cheap food, Naruto snickered to himself while he played 'secret-agent-man' around the kitchen. Haruka concealed a smile, and resisted telling Naruto just how ridiculous he looked trying to copy western styles when his heritage was just as Japanese as it could be.

When they sat down at the counter, using two different stools as seats, Haruka handed the excited Naruto his ramen. She had just a cup of tea for herself. They sat in silence for a bit as Naruto happily and noisily slurped his noodles, and Haruka daintily sipped her tea.

"So," Haruka commented slowly, drawing a portion of Naruto's attention away from his food. "Why were you acting so much like an American earlier? With that entire FBI agent acting, I mean."

After finishing his swallow, Naruto laughed in response. "I don't look Japanese. A lot of people tell me that I look funny." He was being truthful, as Akira and others had taunted Naruto for his natural blonde hair and blue eyes, even though his facial structure didn't look Caucasian. Naruto didn't even know why his hair and eyes were so weird. On the other hand, Haruka did, but she didn't know if she should tell Naruto that information. Her father told her that she was to make sure Naruto didn't hurt himself, but she didn't recall any instructions on telling the boy about his true identity.

Her internal debate continued as Haruka watched Naruto, blissfully ignorant, try to shove a wide bunch of noodles in his mouth. If she was to tell him, then now would be the best time. He had just recently turned twelve, and school was starting a new year in several months. Then again, she didn't know how he would react. Would he be happy, angry, shocked, incredulous, or even feel betrayed in some way?

Finally, tired of keeping secrets, Haruka made her resolve.

"Wait here, I have to go get something." Haruka told Naruto as she stood up. He looked perplexed, but nodded obediently anyways. Naruto turned back to his ramen, and Haruka moved towards the staircase right outside the kitchen. There was an object that she still kept with her that would help explain things.

Yet, as the woman was leaving, she didn't notice that there was someone else lurking around the corner. They tip-toed silently into the kitchen, and then stopped behind the unsuspecting Naruto.

"Aha!"

Naruto whipped around so fast that he nearly fell out of his chair, the bowl of ramen just nearly missed being knocked over. Staring him down triumphantly, and pointing an accusing finger, was Akira.

Naruto didn't know if he would choke or cuss Akira out. But before he could do anything, Akira was speeding out of the room with 'Masumoto' being yelled at the top of his lungs. The two stains of Naruto's life returned before the blonde could escape. Masumoto looked furious, while his favorite resident stood beside him, grinning like he had just won the lottery.

"What do we have here, hmm?" Masumoto growled through his teeth. While Naruto shook, Akira was enjoying every second. "Stealing from the pantry? And I thought you could sink no lower."

Naruto gulped a few seconds before Haruka came rushing back into the room. Naruto just barely noticed her stuff something blue and silver into her back pocket upon noticing Masumoto and Akira. But the mysterious object wasn't currently important to him. Naruto suddenly realized that any consequences he was about to face were all Haruka's fault. And she probably wouldn't even care.

"What's going on here?" Haruka demanded, not even out of breath from sprinting down the stairs. Her gaze flashed from Masumoto to Naruto, who was glaring darkly at her. A wave of guilt crashed over her. She had left for just a couple minutes to find Naruto in trouble.

"I have just caught Uzumaki stealing from the orphanage red-handed." Masumoto responded proudly. "See? He was always a trouble maker from the start, and now he's a thief!"

"B-but," Naruto stammered, regaining his voice. "I didn't steal anything! Sarutobi-_basan_ gave this to me!"

Masumoto scoffed. "Now you're a liar? You're such a shameful piece of trash."

"I'm not lying, you bastard!" Naruto yelled back defiantly. Haruka's eyes widened as Masumoto's expression turned to a murderous glare. Somehow, Naruto didn't back down, and he kept glaring back.

"He's telling the truth!" Haruka snapped before Masumoto could do any damage. The caretaker in question whipped around to face Haruka with wide eyes that quickly regained their cold glare.

"You… you gave him…"

"Yes." Haruka responded, completely unafraid. Naruto and Akira's mouths had dropped open. Naruto was in the crossfire of being shocked and happy. Someone had actually stood up for him. Someone actually cared.

But all good things come to an end.

"You're fired." Masumoto spat vehemently.

Haruka had to leave without even saying goodbye. Many kids in the orphanage were extremely confused as to why Masumoto's former favorite employee had been turned away so harshly. The younger kids cried, while a few of the older ones comforted them.

Naruto fought back tears as he stormed out back, his destination being the old wooden swing that no one else besides Naruto sat on. Everyone was afraid that they would catch Naruto's 'freakiness' if they used the swing, so the thing was typically avoided just as much as Naruto.

Kicking the ground beneath him, Naruto sat sulking. He truly and honestly hated his life sometimes, and the latest event had to be the hardest blow yet. He was too busy glaring at a random blade of grass that he didn't notice a coffee-colored hawk land two feet away from him.

When he didn't acknowledge the bird's presence, it moved closer and then pecked at Naruto's foot.

"Ow!" Naruto yelped, as his glare transferred to the bird that was cocking its head at him. "What the hell was that for, you stupid bird!"

The hawk stuck its beak in the air, as if it was offended by Naruto's comment, and then shook its right leg out. Naruto then noticed a dull blue pouch attached to the leg. Bending down tentatively, Naruto opened up the pouch to remove a thin, burgundy colored scroll that was inside. On the scroll was written in simple black lettering: 'To Naruto Uzumaki.'

Satisfied that it completed its mission, the hawk ruffled out its feathers, and then spread its wings. Naruto tore his eyes away from the scroll to the bird to watch it ascend its way back into the sky. 'Maybe it's not such a stupid bird,' Naruto thought affectionately. It did just deliver Naruto's first ever letter, even if it was in scroll form.

Looking around to make sure no one else was watching him; Naruto unwound the scroll to find just one sentence brushed onto the paper with ink.

_Come to this spot at midnight tonight. _

Please review. I know it's not the best story ever, but I'm trying.


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